Justikanz's 4ft rescaping exercise journal...

[Justikanz]

Ya... I had nothing better to do... No lah... I think the tank looks real messy and I would like to rescape it to make use of the crypts better...

The tank looks something like this now...



I had uprooted the echis, marselia and some of my tenellus on the right side of the tank and intended to build a slope with more lapis and granite. The intention is to make better use of the wood now hidden amongst the crypts and have no 'character'... Also, by building the slope on the right side, I can have minimal disturbnce to the crypts on the left side and transplanting them to the right only after the slope is buily. Hopefully, the damage to the crypts will be minimal...

However, as I have some bolbitis, courtesy of Ranmasatome, and these fellas love current, the best palce to have them is on the left, which is where the filter putlet is...

So, now I am a little confused... slope (intention is to have a big one, with rocks and wood) on the left or right??

The flora on the slope and wood will be the bolbitis, nanas and the crypts... The flora on the other end will be tenellus, marselia and Echinodoras uruguayensis

Any advise before I start building the slope this weekend? I would appreciate very much for any advise...

[budak]

bigger wood you need!

[Justikanz]

I have a bigger piece of wood already... Will update the pic in post#1 soon... now not feeling very well and just got my CF back...

I am concerned on whether the 'hill' should be on the left (where the current is) or on the right (where the water is more still). The bolbitis will be among the wood on the slope...

[|squee|]

Agree with budak I do.

Stemmed plant must go imho (or get more), as well as the plant on the extreme right bottom that looks like a Echino to me. I don't know about the moss on the meshes...

Needs a fair bit of trimming to get things started imho. Don't be afraid to make the tank look horrible for a while. You need to get things defined... right now all I see is a mass of plants.

From where I see it... top of slope from left to right will be easier to do.

[budak]

My proposal: replace the messy balansae with either a group of stem plants en masse (suggestion: Hygrophila stricta 'narrow leaf'). I will do my part to give your balansae a new and loving home.... :P

[Justikanz]

Heh heh... The Duck had been naughty...

Terence, I will replace the pic in post#1 tomorrow or something... I am going to post the newest pic of the tank... That's why I am not re-sizing the pic...

Anyway, the moss are all gone, too much hair algae after the transition to the T5s...

Stemmed plants will not totally go away, though... I am trying mermaid weed, Ludwigia inclinata and a hygrophila-looking-plant-from-Ranma that I still cannot remember the name... These will go between the balansae and the bolbitis and crypts...

[|squee|]

Sounds like a plan The stemmed plants should help in warding off algae. Work on the CO2. CO2's really the key to everything... I keep improving on it. Recently I've shifted my diffusor's position and finally I'm seeing pearling in my tank. There's always something to improve.

I think you learnt from this tank that plant groupings are important! I've realised that only recently too!

[Justikanz]

Photo changed... Budak, is the wood ok?

[budak]

The 'tao' of the wood at the bottom looks a bit big. Think you should take out both pieces and do some dry woody arrangements to see how they fit together.

[PeterGwee]

The tank unfortunately still has the green dirty look.... Did you clean the tank well?

Regards
Peter Gwee

[Justikanz]

Ya, I know the tank is dirty looking... But it is not THAT bad life lah... But... This tank is DIRTY now... I am removing all the plants tomorrow and then bury the dirt (mulm) with more lapis to form the slope(s)... Then once the hardscape's settled, wil start planting again...

[valice]

I think your dirty look is more due to the glass rather than the water... Somehow or rather, your glass's green tinge give the tank a dirty look...

[Justikanz]

My glass has a green tinge?

Anyway, I dug out half of my crypts... Never knew I had so many crypts... And in the process created a hiroshima scape... The water is super cloudly now and dust is gathering everywhere now...

I alos got the slope and the hardscape ready... I will take some pics tomorrow when the water clears up to see if there is a need for further adjustments before the final planting...

[Justikanz]

Ok... Here are some pictures... This is how the tank looks now...



Well, half way through... That's why ugly now... Hope it will look MUCH better later... Haha...



The plants circled (Crytocoryne pactchii or becktii) will be shifted to the right later...

The wood marked 'A' is there to prevent me planting anything as that is where the water flows out from the reactor... The plants usually do not do well there... Would it be better to shift the bolbitis there or plant some stemmed plants? I have some pretty stemmed plants that I would like to use...

[ranmasatome]

i have suggestion... get this piece of wood out of my eye... (refering to the wood sticking out from your scape and poking my eye)...

[Justikanz]

The top one, you mean? Hmm... I thought it was ok leh...

Hmm... Seems like I am a bad scaper...

Let me try to take a new pic and post later... I am beginning to re-plant the crypts... before they all start melting in the holding container, that is!

[Justikanz]

Update:



Removed as much of the hair algae as I can and placed the CO2 on solenoid, hopefully, they will not return...

2 of the T5 tubes were burnt into their sockets and could not be used, thus, only using 2x54W T5HO, 10K tubes... The Baclaya and Blyxa does not seem to take it well... Also got to get rid of the hornwort...

The tank water's a little cloudy... Think it is high time I buy the Ehiem Installation Kit 1 and clean my 2026 filter...

Thinking seriously of getting 4-6 blue discus... Don't scold... My mum's complaining that there are no big fish and without them it is just 'not nice'...

[PeterGwee]

The discus would make the issue more serious if you ask me. Until you get this tank going well, hold back on the discus idea. Check the CO2 very well and dose the nutrients regularly. The plant health is bound to improve if you do all the things well.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[grey_fox]

No offense here, but think you have to clean up your tank further before introducing discus in it. Can see your glass walls have algae on it still.

Anyways, back to your scape, I like the left side, it's wild look. The right looks weird. By the way, what's the luminious green mass on the right side?

My 1 cent.

[Justikanz]

No, Grey Fox, no algae on glass... I think the yellow water + particulates in the water is giving you the wrong impression...

Anyway, I have experience with discus... But thanks for the advise... I will wait out longer.

The right side is a little bare... I have Baclaya longifolia on the back and side with Echinodoras uruguayensis... The green patch is hornwort and I want to get rid of them soon and tie nanas on the wood there and add more Java fern while waiting for the Baclaya to grow...

Peter, strangely, all the plants are doing ok... Well, the Baclaya seems to not establish as yet... But everything else seem good, except that the hair algae seems be growing on the moss I left growing among the tenellus lawn. I had now removed as much of the moss as I can...